Stocking and method of manufac



Aug. 13, 1935. M. G. VAN ARSDALE Er A1. 2,010,936

STOCKINGAND METHOD` OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME 8 Sheets-Sheet- 1 FiledOct. 3, 1951 V EN TORS Aug. 13, 1935. M. G. VAN ARSDALE Er ALy 2,010,936

STOCKING AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME Filed oct. 5, 1931 asheets-sheet 2 A TTORNEYS.

Aug. 13, 1935. M. G. VAN ARsDALE Er AL Filed 0G13. 3, 1931 oWoo:

mm um ATTORNEYS.

Aug. 13, 1935. M Q VAVN ARSDALE Er AL 2,010,936

sTocKING AND METHOD 6E MANUFACTURING THE SAME Filed Oct. 3, 1931 8Sheets-Sheet 4 v. v O

A ToRNEYs.

Aug. 13,i 1935. M. G. VAN ARSDALE |:r AL 12,010,936

STOCKI-NG AND METHOD'OF MANUFACTURING' THE SAME 8 Sheet-s-Shee't 5'Filed Oct. 5, 1931 zml www .MM

, y BY XX XXX Aug. 13,- 1935.

M. G. VAN ARSDALE ET AL STOCKINGAND METHOD OF MANUFACTURTN-I THE SAMEFiled oor. s, 1951 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 @gjl AUS* 13, 1935- M. G. VANARsDALl-z Er AL 2,010,936

STOCKING AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE` SAME 4Filed ol'.. 3, 1931 8Sheets-Sheet 7 Aug. 13, 1935, M. G. VAN ARSDALE ErAL 2,010,936

STOCKING AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME Filed oct. s, 1951 8sheet's-sheet 8 Patented Aug. 13, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICESTOCKING AND METHOD OF MANUFAC- TURING THE SAME Application October 3,1931, Serial No. 566,780

7 Claims. (VCI. 66-178) This invention relates to a new and improvedmethod of manufacturing stockings, 'and to anew and improved stocking.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide an improved method of`making a stocking in which the important parts of the stocking are madeof .warp-knit material.

Anotherobject of the invention is to provide a method of manufacturing astocking, the' important 4parts of which are made of warp-knit material,in an economical manner.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved stocking, theimportant parts of which are' made of warp-knit material, the use ofwhich is preferable to an ordinary knit-fabric, because the warp-knitmaterial will not run. The ordinary knitfabric may be referred to asweftknit fabric.

Another object of our invention is to provide a stocking in which theleg portion and the instep and the sole are made of an integral piece ofwarp-knit material, this warp-knit material being preferably reinforcedat the rear of the angle portion. l

Another object of our invention is to provide a new and improved methodof manufacturing a stocking having a leg portion made of warp-knitmaterial, and having other portions or sections made ofordinary weftknit material. j For example, the toe and heel anc' the welt of thestocking may be made of weft knit material, connected in an improvedmanner to the leg section.

Other objects of our invention will be set forth in the followingdescription and drawings which illustrate a preferred embodimentthereof, it being understood that the above general statement of theobjects of this invention is intended merely to generally explain thesame and not to limit it in any manner. f

Fig. 1 is a plan view .showing a large piece of warp-knit material,suitably reinforced at predetermined zones, from which a number ofblanks can be cut for making individual'stockings.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a lower end .of the leg blank or section, afterit has been cut from the large piece of material shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a plan view showing the lower end of the blank illustrated inFig. 2, after this has been shaped and slitted.` In actual practice thewidth of the blank shown in Fig. 3 is the same as the Width of the blankshown in Fig. 2, Fig. 3 being on a reduced scale.

Fig. i is a plan view showing how some of the material of the slittedblank which is illustrated in Fig. 3 can be bent away from the body ofsaid blank, in order to permit the attachment of the heel tabs.

Fig. 5 is a plan view showing how some of the material of the blankillustrated in Fig. 3 has been folded out of the way, and how the heeltabs 5 are attached.

Fig. 6 is a plan view showing the toe attached to the leg blank.

Fig. 7 is a plan view showing the welt of the stocking connected to thetop of the leg 'blank or 10 section.

Fig.8 is a plan view showing the completed stocking.

Figs. 9 and 10 are respectively sectional views on the lines 9--9 andl0-il of Fig. 8. l5 Fig. 11 is adiagrarmnatic view illustrating one ofthe methods of connecting to the leg section, another section of thestocking, such as the welt, the toe, or the heel.

Fig. 12 is a diagrammatic view showing another 20 and better method ofconnecting the leg blank of a stocking section with another partthereof.

Fig. 12a is a diagrammatic view showing the arrangement of the transferpoints,`i n order to practice the method illustrated inFlg.-12.

Fig. 13 is a plan view showing a large piece of warp knit materialsuitably reinforced at predetermined zones, in which the heel tabs aremade suiciently large to form the heel of the stocking 3o so that it isunnecessary to complete the heel of the stocking by means of ordinaryweft knit material. Y

Fig. 14. shows another type of fabric made of warp knit material andhaving reinforced areas of sufficient size to form the heel tabs of thestocking, said reinforced areas being also formed by interknittingadditional-warp thread.

Fig. 15 is a partial view of a stocking blank 'which is cut from thematerial shown in Figs. 40

13 and 14.

Fig. 16 shows how a stocking blank is cut from the blank shown in Fig.15.

Fig. 17 is a plan view of the reinforced sole of the Stocking.

Fig. 18 is a plan view of the reinforced toe portion of the stocking, itbeing imderstood that the instep and the toe portion may be made of warpknit material.

zones for the toe portion ot the stocking. T @En Fig. 21 shows theessential part of la blank which is cut from the fabric shown in Fig.20.

Fig. 22 shows how the blank illustrated in Fig. 2l is cut, in order toproduce the stocking.

Fig. 23 shows a completed stocking made from the blank shown in Fig. 22.

In order to manufacture the improved stocking in a quick and economicalmanner, a piece of tricot or any suitable warp-knit material I isknitted upon any suitable warp-knitting machine. The invention is notrestricted to any particular weight or style of the warp-knit material,and the meshes of the warp-knit material may be made of any desiredsize.

The piece of warp-knit material may also be made of any desired size.The warp-knit material I is provided with reinforced zones. Thesereinforced zones 2, are provided by interknitting an extra thread orthreads into the fabric at the zones y2, so that the zones 2 can haveany desired excess strength. Likewise, the meshes of the zones 2 can bemade smaller than the meshes of the intermediate part-of the fabric.

The extra thread or threads which are used to reinforce the zones 2 maybe confined to said zones during the knitting operation, and this ispreferable. If said' extra thread or threads T are extended between thezones 2, during the knitting operation, said extra thread or threads Tcan De cut out or eliminated in any desired manner.

A knit piece of fabric is made largeenough to provide a number of legsections or blanks L. The sheet of fabric is thereforel cut along thelines t and 5 in order to provide leg blanks or sections. A

It will be noted that the zones 2 are arranged in sets of four, eachsaid set comprising a pair of relatively closely spaced zones and a pairof relatively widely spaced zones. The inclined longitudinal cuts,corresponding to the lines are made along the outer margins of theclosely spaced zones, and along the inner margins of the widely spacedzones.

Hence the leg blank L has no reinforced zones at its upper end, and ithas a pair of reinforced zones at its lower end. This method of cuttingpermits the most economical utilization of the warp-knit fabric, asthere is no waste of the material at the widely spaced zones.

After a leg blank has been cut out, the side walls of the lower endthereof are suitably shaped as shown in Fig. 3, and cuts are formedalong the lines 6 and 6a, in the reinforced zones 2, so as to separatereinforced zones I therefrom. The material of the leg blank can beseparated along'the lines S and 6a, so that the heel tabs can be knittedto the lower margins of the zones I0.

It is desirable to simultaneously knit the heel tabs to the zones I0,and the lower part of each leg blank is therefore folded upwardly asshown in Fig. 5, so that the heel tabs H can be knitted to the lowermargins of the zones I0.

In Fig. the instep portion of the stocking is designated by thereference letter I, and the sole portion of the stocking is'designatedby the reference letter S, it being understood that the stocking isfinished by suitable means as Will be later described. v

The heel tabs H are made of weft knit material in order to provide thenecessary stretch for this section of the stocking.

Likewise, the toe portion i I of the stocking is also made of ordinaryweft knit material, in order to provide sufcient elasticity at thispoint, and the welt W is also made of ordinary weftknit material. Thewelt W 'may have a picot edge P.

In order to provide the finishing sections of the stocking, such as thewelt, the toe, and the heel tabs, the usual transfer and finishingmachines are utilized, such as the footer, etc.

Fig. l1 shows how the meshes I6 of the Warpknit material can beconnected to the loops Il of a, finishing section made of weft-knitmaterial, such as a welt or a heel tab or the like.

For this purpose the meshes I5 are placed upon a transfer bar havingpoints of the ordinary type.

Fig. ll shows how a stocking section made of weft-knit material, isknitted to the meshes I of the leg blank. Referring to Fig. 5, the zonesIIJ have said meshes I6. The central meshes of I6 of said zones I0 arefirst placed upon the transfer points and the other meshes IIS are thenplaced upon said points, proceeding in opposite directions from saidcentral meshes. The transfer points are spaced so that the centralmeshes I 6 are stretched somewhat as they are placed on said transferpoints, and the outer meshes in zones I0 are relatively unstretched whenthey are placed on said transfer points. As shown in Fig. 5, the heeltabs H are connected to the edges of the blanks which have been formedby the cuts 6 and 6a, and the material below said cuts is 'used to formthe sole and the instep of the stocking.

This is diagrammatically shown'in Fig. ll, from which it can be seenthat the meshes I6 in the median portion of the blank are wider than themeshes at the right-hand side portion of the blank.

When the warp-knit material is originally knitted, the meshes of thereinforced zones are preferably of the same size, and they are smallerthan the meshes of th'e remainder of the blank, said meshes-of theremainder of the blank being also preferably of the same size. A mesh oropen-work stocking can therefore be readily produced.

'In order to avoid any relative stretch of the meshes of the leg blankwhen a welt or the like is to be connected thereto, the methodillustrated in Figs. 12 and 12a can be utilized. Fig. 12adiagrammatically shows the arrangement of the transfer points.

In the method illustrated in Fig. l1, these transfer points are locatedon a single straight line, in the usual manner.

In Fig. 12a, some of the transfer points are shown as being offset. Inthe particular arrangement shown in Fig. 12a, the transfer points arearranged in two parallel straight line groups, one if said lines oftransfer points having two points for each point of the other group. Thetransfer points can be arranged in any suitable combination in aplurality of lines.

Due to this arrangement the warp-knit material and the weft-knitmaterial are interknit as shown in Fig. 12, and it can be seen that theconnecting loops of the weft-knit material which are directly connectedto the meshes of the Warpknit material comprise alternate long loops andshort loops. Each long connecting weft-loop is equal in length to two ofthe mesh loops, and this relation can be varied as desired.

The improved stocking is completed by means of stitches I8 and 2|, andif desired any well known finishing operations may be employed forforming the full-fashioned stocking from the blank which is thusproduced.

While the production of a full-fashioned stock- Vus ing has beenillustrated, the invention is not necessarily limited to the productionof a fullfashioned stocking.

The improved stocking has a leg L which is integral with the instep andwith the sole, and these parts of the stocking are made of-warpknitmaterial, and the sole section is reinforced. Likewise, the ankle of thestocking is also reinforced, and the only parts of the stocking whichare made of weft-knit material are the toe and the heel and the welt.While the invention is not to be limited to the production of an openmesh stocking, it permits the manufacture of this relatively expensivetype of stocking in Ian economical manner, and the stocking is much moredurable than the ordinary mesh stocking, which is made of weft-knitmaterial.

It is not necessary to partially form the heel tabs, etc. from ordinaryweft-knit material, and it is frequently desirable to eliminate thenecessity of using such weft-knit material.

Referring to Fig. 13 for example, this illustrates a piece of warp knitfabric having reinforced and warp knitted zones or areas Rh whichcomprise the complete heel tabs of the stocking, so that it isunnecessary to knit weft-knit material to form said heel tabs. Thefabric shown in Fig. 13 is cut along the lines |42 and 2a leaving wasteareas I 40. I

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 14 and Fig. 16. reinforced heel tabs Rhare also provided, but the spacing of said zones is different. Hencewhen the fabric is cut along the lines H2 andV "2a, relatively smallwaste areas IH are formed.

As shown in Flg. 15, a stocking blank which is formed by cutting thematerial shown in Fig. 14, has reinforced zones Rh, formed by the use ofan extra warp thread or warp threads, and as shown in Fig. 16, thesezones Rh form the complete heel tabs for the stocking. The blank is cutso as to provide an instep I.

Figs. 17 and 18 respectively illustrate the separately knitted soleportion Sf and the separately knitted toe portion T.' These may consistof warp knit material.

them together or interconnecting them in any suitable manner.

Fig. 2o shaws the knitting of a warp knit fsb-` ric, having reinforcedand warp knitted zones which form the toe portions Rt as well as theheel tabs Rh. This fabric i's cut along the lines Il! and |42a, and theintermediate warp threads H which are located between adjacentreinforced zones can be cut or removed in any suitable manner. The wasteareas Ill are relatively small. l

Fig. 21 illustrates the cutting of the blank from the material shown inFig. 20, so as to form complete heel tab zones Rh and a toe member Rt.

` I Fig.v22 illustrates the cutting of the stocking from the'blank shownin Fig. 21.

Fig. 23 illustrates the complete stocking having a leg portion Tm, thevarious sections being joined by stitches Sm or any other suitablemanner. v

A row of finishing stitches F may be utilized along the back of thepartially finished stocking.

We have shown a preferred embodiment of our invention, but it is clearthat numerous changes and omissions can be made without departing fromits spirit. l

We claim:

l. A stocking having a part made of warp-knit material and a part madeof weft-knit material,

the loops of said weft-knit material being directly interknit with themeshes of the warp-knit materlal, said loops which are directlyinterknit with the meshes of the warp-knit material being ofvaryinglength and being alternately of greater and lesser length.

3. In the art of making a stocking of warp-knit material, those stepswhich consist in knitting a piece of warp-knit material while producingreinforced zones therein, said zones being arranged in sets of four,.each said set comprising a pair of relatively closely spaced zones and apair of relatively widely spaced zones, cutting said materialtransversely across all of said zones, and also cutting said materialalong the inner edges of the widely spaced zones and along the outeredges of the closely spaced zones, in order to produce a tapered blankof warp-knit material having. reinforced zones at the side walls of thenarrow end thereof.

4. In the art of making a warp-knit stocking from a tapered warp-knitblank having a pair of reinforced zones along the side walls of thenarrow end thereof, those steps which consist in transversely cuttingsaid zones intermediate the ends thereof, connecting the heel tabs tothe edges formed by said cuts at the lower end of the body of the blank,and utilizing the remainder of the material, those steps which consistin knitting a piece of warp knit material having reinforced zonescorresponding to the heels of the stockings and also having reinforcedzones corresponding to the toes of the stockings, and then cutting saidwarp knit material inorder to form tapered leg blanks, each saidlegblankhaving the reinforced zones corresponding to the heel of thestocking extending inwardly from the side walls of the narrow endthereof, each said leg blank having a reinforced zone corresponding tothe toe of the stocking at the end wall of the narrow end thereof, thereinforced zone corresponding to the heel of the stocking beinglongitudinally spaced from the reinforced zones corresponding to the toeof the stocking.

Y 6. In the art of making a stocking of warp knit material, those stepswhich consist in, knitting a piece of warp knit material havingreinforced zones which form at least parts of the reinforced heel tabsof said stocking, said reinforced zones -being located in longitudinalrows, the lateral distances between the zones of adjacent rows beingalternately relatively large and relatively small, and then cutting saidpiece of material so as to form tapered leg blanks, each said leg blankhaving a vpair of said reinforced zones located inwardly. of the sidewalls of the narrow end thereof.

7. In the art of making a stocking of warp knit material, those stepswhich consist in knitting a ing alternately relatively large andrelatively small, and then cutting said piece of material so as to formtapered leg blanks, each said leg blank having a pair of said reinforcedzones located inwardly of the side walls of the narrow end thereof, saidpiece of Warp knit material being also made with reinforced zonescorresponding to the toes of the stocking, said reinforced toe zonesbeing located between and adjacent to the reinforced heel-portion zoneswhich are relatively close to each other, the fabric being cut so thatthe end wall of the narrow end of each blank is provided with areinforced toe-portion zone.

MALCOLM G, VAN ARSDALE. LAWRENCE W. GRIFFIS.

